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Room
Seezimmer 3
Friday, September 14  »  10:30 - 12:00
Poster - Symposium 3
Current developments and research directions in positive psychology
Host
René Proyer (University of Zurich)
Chair
René Proyer (University of Zurich)
Discussant
Willibald Ruch (University of Zurich)
Positive psychology is an umbrella term for the study of positive emotions, positive character traits, and enabling institutions (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). A special focus will be on the evaluation of strengths of character in executives and successful leaders will be examined. Furthermore, the special role of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; Peterson, & Seligman, 2003) as the main instrument for the subjective assessment of strengths of character will be highlighted. In contrast, the VIA-SI (Structured interview; Peterson, 2003) will be introduced as an alternative assessment strategy and provides a possible strategy towards a multi-method assessment of character strengths. An important topic is the role of intervention programs in positive psychology. Peterson and Seligman (2004) suggest that strength of character can be trained and changed. Thus, intervention programs will be discussed exemplary. Finally, an outlook of the role of positive psychology in relation to negative emotions will be discussed. Gelotophobia, the fear of being laughed at, is a recently introduced new individual difference variable and its relations to variables like gratitude, subjective well-being or grit will be examined. Overall, positive psychology will be discussed within different theoretical and practical frameworks and results will be discussed along with current directions in literature.
Speakers
René Proyer
What does positive psychology hold in for gelotophobics?
Authors
René Proyer (University of Zurich)
Gelotophobia is defined as the fear of being laughed at and was recently introduced as a new individual differences phenomenon (Ruch, & Proyer, 2007). The aim of this study was to examine Gelotophobia from an angle of positive psychological functioning. Results from an empirical study (N = 206) suggest that gelotophobics can be described with low optimism, high pessimism, low in their authentic and subjective happiness, low in their subjective well-being, and as low scorers in gratitude. Further, results indicate that their ways of life do not enable a good life from a positive psychology-perspective. Gelotophobia was negatively related to the life of pleasure and the life of engagement and a zero-correlation to the life of meaning was found. Thus, it was shown that Gelotophobia could be described within a positive psychology-framework. The results show possible intervention strategies for its treatment. In recent studies interventions for gratitude proved to be a valid strategy for increasing the participants’ life-satisfaction (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). Peterson, Park, and Seligman (2005) found that low scores in all three ways of life (the “empty life”) were particularly related to low life-satisfaction. However, interventions based on these findings might help developing useful strategies in the treatment of Gelotophobia based on a positive psychology back-ground.
Maria Schmid
Identifying the strengths of character of vocational counselors and management consultants by comparing results from a questionnaire and a structured interview
Authors
Maria Schmid (University of Zurich)
Willibald Ruch (University of Zurich)
René Proyer (University of Zurich)
Peterson and Seligman (2004) introduced a classification of 24 strengths of character. The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; Peterson, & Seligman, 2003) is a questionnaire for the subjective assessment of strengths of character and is already well validated in the German-language area. Its counterpart, the structured interview (Values in Action Structured Interview of Strengths VIA-SI; Peterson, 2003), was translated and adapted for the first time in the German-language area in this study. Vocational counselors (n = 29) and management consultants (n = 26) completed the VIA-IS, the Orientations to Happiness Scale (OTH; Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), and a scale for the subjective assessment of work-satisfaction (SAZ; Fischer, & Lück, 1972). Regarding the convergent validity, the VIA-IS and the VIA-SI-scales correlated up to .62 (p < .01). Compared to the reference sample, vocational counselors described themselves lower in the strengths of enthusiasm, leadership, prudence, and gratitude. Management consultants described themselves higher in the strengths of love of learning, judgement, perspective, bravery, persistence, enthusiasm, prudence, self-regulation, hope, and lower in appreciation of beauty.
Claudia Buschor
The power of gratitude: Do positive interventions enable life-satisfaction?
Authors
Claudia Buschor (University of Zurich)
René Proyer (University of Zurich)
Willibald Ruch (University of Zurich)
Contrary to common postulates of personality traits, Peterson and Seligman (2004) explicitly claim in their classification of character-strengths and virtues that strengths can be changed and thus trained. Recent research showed that some of these strengths - especially gratitude, hope, zest, love, and curiosity - are positively related to life-satisfaction (Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004; Peterson, Ruch, Beermann, Park, & Seligman, in press). Only a few studies on the effectiveness of positive interventions have been published so far. Seligman, Park, and Peterson (2005) showed that positive interventions (initiated via the Internet) such as the “gratitude visit” led to an increase in subjective happiness of the participants within a time span of six months. No data on positive interventions from the German-language area is available yet. Thus, the research question is whether the training of strengths of character has an impact on life-satisfaction as well. Therefore, the outline for a German adaptation of a gratitude-intervention and preliminary results from a pre-study will be presented. Furthermore, the usefulness of a large-scale study to be conducted in Zurich will be discussed.
Claudia Buschor
Do job characteristics influence daily well-being at work? An Experience Sampling Study
Authors
Claudia Buschor (University of Zurich)
Urs Schallberger (University of Zurich)
Assessment methods for psychological work analysis base on the assumption that job characteristics affect emotional well-being at work in specific ways. It is implicitly assumed that work conditions which include variety and decision latitude lead to positive, whereas stressful work conditions lead to negative emotions and mood. A valid test of this implicit assumption has to fulfill, at the least, the main condition that affective well-being at work is captured directly, while participants are actually working. The present investigation was a one-week-long experience sampling study, collecting data on 225 full-time employees. Job characteristics were captured using five scales of the short questionnaire for work analysis (KFZA; Prümper, Hartmannsgruber, & Frese, 1995) that assesses core contents of the two work analysis basic dimensions "work contents" and "work stressors". Affective experience at work was described using the dimensions Positive Activation (PA) and Negative Activation (NA; Watson, Wiese, Vaidya, & Tellegen, 1999). The underlying hypothesis was that PA experienced at work is primarily a function of work contents, while NA is primarily a function of stressors. This hypothesis was clearly confirmed. These relationships held also when controlling for the influence of third variables. The effect sizes were medium, which is considerable, considering the many other factors determining everyday well-being.
Monika Vetsch
Lifestyles and character strengths: Are they the keys to success and leadership?
Authors
Monika Vetsch (University of Zurich)
Willibald Ruch (University of Zurich)
The aim of the present study in Positive Psychology is the empirical evaluation of the role of strengths of character and lifestyle for vocational success and leadership. The purpose is to identify the typical profile of strengths of character and lifestyles of successful people and Leaders. Peterson and Seligman (2004) defined six universal virtues and 24 character strengths that can be assessed through the German on-line version of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; Peterson & Seligman,2004). The hypothesis based on literature review, was put forward so that high level of creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, bravery, persistence, social intelligence, self-regulation, fairness, leadership, self-regulation, hope and low modesty enable success and leadership in practice. Peterson, Park, and Seligman (2005) define three different orientations to happiness or “lifestyles” (life of pleasure, life of engagement, life of meaning), assessed with the Orientation to Happiness-scale (OTH). Our hypothesis is that an engaged life is necessary for success and leadership on a high level. It is expected that successful and leading people who are able to practice their character strengths and live an engaged life tend to be happier. A cross-sectional study is currently on the way. Participants are 50 employees from the financial industry. Different groups will be formed by vertical position on job ladder and income. The preliminary results of the study will be presented.
Gina Furrer
Positive Psychology at the Workplace: Do Character Strengths Make a Difference? A Trait-Based Approach to Measure Relative Character Strengths of Executives and Employees Using the Values In Action – Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS)
Authors
Gina Furrer (University of Zurich)
Deborah Huwyler (University of Zurich)
Willibald Ruch (University of Zurich)
Through generating a classification and an instrument for assessment of character strengths, positive psychology has made it possible to address the questions “Are different character strengths required for different positions?” and “Which strengths predict life and work satisfaction for different hierarchical positions?”. An instrument to measure executives' and employees' character strengths is the VIA-IS (Values In Action – Inventory of Strengths, Peterson & Seligman, 2003) a questionnaire measuring 24 character strengths. A scale containing items about hierarchical positions, life satisfaction and work satisfaction has been added. The scales were filled in by 192 executives and 83 employees of Swiss companies, and this sample was supplemented by 56 employees from the VIA-IS norm sample. The application of discriminant function analysis reveals that high, middle and low level executives differ from each other in the character strengths open-mindedness, love of learning and modesty. The same analysis between executives and employees yielded leadership, hope, bravery and open-mindedness as the differentiating strengths. Executives scored higher in the work satisfaction scale than employees. Correlations between work satisfaction and character strengths were higher within executives, while correlations between life satisfaction and character strengths were higher within employees. The results show benefit in further use of character strengths in both research and workplace.
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